


The Security Breach

by mcgarrygirl78



Category: Criminal Minds
Genre: Drama, F/M, Friendship, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-10-18
Updated: 2014-10-18
Packaged: 2018-02-21 14:46:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,292
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2472089
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mcgarrygirl78/pseuds/mcgarrygirl78
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“I felt ashamed.  I was mad at myself for doing something that left me vulnerable to attack.”</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Security Breach

Rossi and Morgan walked out of the jewelry store and under the yellow police line. This one was the same as the others; much more sophisticated than your average smash and grab. Cameras and alarms were disabled before the Unsubs entered the building. The police thought the first robbery was an inside job. Then it happened again, and again, and then a third time in McLean, putting both DC and the entire Corridor on alert. 

There were at least three Unsubs on the inside and a getaway driver. In the store, all the female employees were tied up and one male employee always shot between the eyes. While the robberies became more elaborate, the Unsub behavior seemed to be devolving. Morgan profiled that the mastermind might not be actively involved in the robberies. The police had no description of the team because they all wore masks and gloves. 

Only one of them spoke. At the second robbery it was determined that one was light skinned black or Hispanic; an employee saw some of his wrist. At the third robbery, one of the employees was sure that the person who shot the manager was a woman. None of the other employees could corroborate the account.

“Rossi! Yo, Rossi!”

“Aww, c'mon Mike.” Dave rolled his eyes as the veteran Washington Times reporter crossed the street and walked toward them. One of the officers was about to get tough with him but Rossi waved him through. “The FBI has nothing to say at this time about any ongoing investigations.”

“No,” the reporter shook his head. “This is about something…”

“Any and all inquiries into BAU cases should be directed to Agent Grant Anderson at Quantico.”

“Stop for just a damn second, will ya?” the reporter raised his hand. “You and I go way back. This isn’t about work.”

“What is it?” Rossi asked.

Dave was skeptical but could admit that 95% of the time Mike Jamison hadn’t screwed him over. They first met in the early 90s; Mike was a cub reporter on the crime beat and Dave was working a serial rapist case in Anacostia. They scratched each other’s backs from time to time but the NPD rarely called in the FBI. Cops stayed on one side and feds on the other. Reporters straddled the fence looking for a sound bite from whoever talked first.

“You been on TMZ lately?” Mike asked.

“TM who?”

“Rossi, its 2014, please get with the times.”

“Oh wait, is that the so-called news site that shows ladies intimate parts when they're climbing out of limos?”

“It’s all that and then some. Lately there has been a rash of cell phone leaks and breaches. These leaks led to female celebrities nude pictures all over the web.”

“Our BAU isn’t involved in that case.” Morgan said. “You would have to speak to someone in cybercrimes.”

“Anyway,” Mike went on as if Morgan hadn’t said a word. “Some of the celebrities are big time and some small potatoes. One of the celebrities is you.”

“Come again?”

“Check the website.” Mike turned, lighting a Marlboro he pulled form his pocket. “The Writer and Wonder Woman are getting a lot of hits. And don’t say I never helped you out.”

“I have no idea what that was about.” Dave mumbled as he watched the reporter climbed into his battered ragtop Beamer.

“Oh shit, I do.” Derek grabbed the phone from his hip and pressed one. “Baby girl, I need you to do me a solid off the books.”

“What do you need, sugar?” Penelope Garcia was already pushing buttons to get a 10 minute wall of silence between her and The Man who watched her every day. He would be looking at some work she did five or so days ago while she did something else entirely.

“I need you to do a search on The Writer and Wonder Woman.”

“I'm assuming you do not mean a Google search.”

“You might have to troll the deepest quagmires of the net to get this one.”

“Derek Morgan, I am really hoping this is a bad porn because even though I just had breakfast and am no mood to see one of my favorite superheroes in a gang bang, it would still be better than…holy Mary, mother of God.”

“What is it?” Derek asked.

“It’s um…it’s…”

“Penelope? Baby, I need you to talk to me.”

“Is Rossi with you?” her voice came back but it was barely above a whisper.

“Yeah.” Morgan nodded.

“You both need to get back here right now.”

“Is it bad?”

“If you find five words worse than bad you might skim the surface.”

“We’re heading to you right now.”

“What is it?” Dave asked as Morgan hung up.

“We need to get back to Quantico. I don't know how bad it is but we need to get back.”

Rossi nodded, following Morgan to the SUV. He had no idea what was happening but he knew it wasn’t good. Something in his gut told him it was really, really not good.

***

“May I have your phone please?” Deputy Director Kirk Douglas walked into Erin’s FBI Academy office.

“Good morning to you too, sir.” Erin looked up from her paperwork, rectangle glasses perched on the bridge of her nose.

“Good morning, Assistant Deputy Director Strauss.” He closed the office door, walked over to her desk, and held out his hand. “I need to see your phone.”

Erin handed over her work phone, which was sitting on her desk. Kirk shook his head.

“I need to see your personal phone, Erin.”

“Why do you need to see my personal phone?” she asked. “I have the right to deny such a request without clear information as to why unless you have a warrant. Go ask the NSA, I'm sure they can show you everything I've been doing lately.”

“This is a matter of national security.” Kirk said. “I would rather do it myself than the damn Justice Department start issuing subpoenas and the like. They're a little hearing happy these days on the Hill. Please, Erin.”

She nodded, opening her right drawer and pulling out her Samsung. Still unsure of what was happening, Erin handed the phone to her boss and mentor. While not as savvy as some on the Bureau payroll, Kirk made it his business to know the ins and outs of all popular cell phones. He was old school, and there were those who took his age to be a disadvantage. It was not and never would be, just as his youth wasn’t decades before.

He opened the phone apps, tapped on the gallery, and scrolled through the 447 pictures. Most were normal; Kirk expected to see dogs, kids, grandkids, shoes, and her husband. He closed the gallery and went straight to her folders. There was one called Drunk in Love…he opened it. 

He found exactly what he was looking for but hoped not to see. There were about 40 pictures, though Erin was only full frontal in four of them. She was topless in more and they could definitely be described as sexy. The ones where she was dressed as Wonder Woman were quite provocative. 

There were some of her and Dave in front of their large bathroom mirror, both topless but holding each other so little showed. Kirk sighed and went back to the homepage. It was going to be impossible to bleach his brain of what he saw; this woman was like his daughter. One never really recovered from seeing their daughter in a compromising position.

“Did you find what you were looking for?” Erin asked as she took the phone back. She couldn’t help the contempt that crept into her voice. This was Kirk, she trusted him with her life, but something wasn’t right.

“I did, and there is a problem.” He sat down in the plush chair across from her desk. 

One year in and Erin made this Academy job her own. She thrived here and loved interacting with the cadets and instructors. The recent graduating class was their largest in five years, with a larger percentage of women and minorities than the Bureau had in nearly a decade. Erin was about to spend three weeks on the lecture circuit discussing women in 21st century law enforcement. There might even be a few television interviews in there. She was becoming the face of the FBI, the future of it, and no one was prouder than Kirk was. Now, and as always, he wasn’t letting anyone take down his kid without a hell of a fight.

“What's going on?”

“There's been a security breach and the personal phones of several federal employees have been hacked. Information from those phones have been leaked to the media and other outlets. As you know, once the information is on the web there are no take backs.”

“What kind of information and how was this brought to your attention?”

“We have several of our more outstanding techs who check buzz words every single day. Most nights there is little to nothing to report. That changed last night around eleven. I was made aware of the change by BAU Tech Supervisor Kevin Lynch.”

“Why don’t we cut to the chase, sir?” Erin asked. “I've never been fond of beating around the bush. I'm thinking this is something that needs to be cleaned or dressed up. Give it to me straight and I will take care of it.”

“Sometime over the past week, your personal cell phone was hacked.” Kirk said. “Private pictures, very private pictures, were stolen and leaked onto the internet. Both you and your husband were shown in these pictures. Considering he is internationally known and your name has become bankable in the last year, this is a very big deal.”

“Are you shitting me?” she opened her mouth and that was the first thing that came out.

“No. This is a very big deal, Erin.”

“Someone hacked my phone and stole my pictures, you don’t have to tell me that it’s a big deal. I'm not a celebrity no matter how bankable some people think my name may be. Why would they do that? What would be the point they're trying to get across with something like this?”

“We may never find out the answer to that question.” The Deputy Director replied.

“Should I prepare for the scolding?” Erin crossed her arms and leaned back in her chair. “How could you be so stupid to take such intimate pictures on a cell phone? How could you pose for them knowing all you had to lose? How dare you, a woman, have an active sexual and fantasy life?”

Kirk looked at her. He blinked and remained unimpressed.

“Kirk…”

“You have every right to have any pictures you want on your personal phone.” He said. “You have a right to engage in an intimate, sexual relationship with your partner and an expected right of privacy while doing so. This leak is a blatant violation of that. It is no more your fault than the weather is. I will fight to the death to find out who did this and bring them to justice.”

“You’ve done enough for me already.” Erin said, sighing. 

How could this be happening? How was it happening right now? It had been sixteen months since Erin Strauss survived an attack by The Replicator and suddenly became a media darling. Next month a movie about the entire ordeal would premiere on TNT starring Robin Wright. 

A low profile was no longer in the cards for Erin. Everyone knew that. Some praised it while some waited in the wings to knock her back to earth. They were about to have their chance.

“No one…”

“I know, no one threatens your kid on your watch.”

“Don’t say it like that.” Kirk put a bit of scolding in his tone. “You don’t deserve this. I know you know that; I know you know that I'm doing what any parent would. Except this time I will have the full fury of the Federal Bureau of Investigation behind me. 

“Isn’t that a refreshing change? The Director is not pleased. He's never been the best actor…I think his shock and anger was genuine. Not to mention that you were not the only one hacked. If your ass is safe because no one wants it discovered that Senior Senator Such and Such has an affinity for possible underage gay anime bondage porn, I’ll take what I can get.”

“Underage…”

“Don’t repeat that.” Kirk shook his head.

Erin nodded. It wasn’t even lunch time yet…clearly it was going to be one of those days.

***

Dave wasn’t allowed to punch or knock over anything in Penelope’s lair. The Bureau had spent millions of dollars on the equipment. The Senior SSA paced the floor, muttering incoherently to himself. Derek and Penelope watched him closely. He was like a bottle rocket; they had to blast off once the fuse was lit.

“Son of a bitch! Goddamn son of a bitch! When I find out who did this…” Dave turned back to Penelope’s computer screens. “Minimize that, would you kid? Derek doesn’t need to see my wife in her panties.”

“I'm so sorry.” Penelope minimized the five screens. “No one needs to see this.”

“Why would someone do this?” Derek asked. “Strauss isn’t famous like Jennifer Lawrence or Kate Upton.”

“Who?” Dave asked.

“The point is…”

“Dave is pretty famous.” Penelope said. “He's got bestsellers, he's solved world famous murder cases, and there is a rumor that his novel series is going Hollywood by 2016. I read from two different sources that it’s a heated race between Patrick Dempsey and Edward Norton for the title role. Though I did read on one of my favorite sites they were considering race bending and going with Idris Elba.”

“I approve of Idris Elba.” Dave said.

“Me too and three.” Penelope nodded.

“But someone uses my wife to embarrass me?” he shook his head. “It doesn’t make a lot of sense. They could’ve hacked my phone instead. This feels personal to me. Erin is a fiftysomething federal Agent. I think she's sexy as hell but women that age don’t fill the loins of the average web surfing male. Why would they care about her Wonder Woman costume?”

“That’s a good question.” Derek said.

“Firstly, there are more dudes into fiftysomething women than you know, Agent Rossi.” Penelope said. “Secondly, Assistant Deputy Director Strauss is surely becoming famous in her own right. She survived a serial killer’s ambush. She became the poster woman for both femininity and fearlessness in the FBI. She's getting her own movie; and it’s going to be awesome. It wouldn’t be the first time a man tried to bring a woman down by exposing her at her most vulnerable. John Curtis tried it just one year ago.”

“Penelope, I…” Kevin knocked on the door and entered before being invited. “Oh, you're not alone.”

“You couldn’t have picked a worse time to drop by, Kevin.” Derek said.

“This isn’t a courtesy call. I'm here with direct orders from the Deputy Director.”

“Is this about the Assistant Deputy Director?” Rossi asked.

“I'm not at liberty to say, Agent Rossi.”

“She is my wife!”

“And I have direct orders from the Deputy Director of the FBI.” Kevin stood a little taller. He had to do his job. Rossi was intimidating when he was angry but Kevin had grown up a lot since their first, nerve-filled conversation nearly six years ago. “I understand your frustration but I can't let personal feelings for the Assistant Deputy Director impede this investigation.”

“What do you need, Kevin?” Penelope asked.

“You're with me on this; the Deputy Director approved. We’re starting a super trace.”

“A trace?” Penelope was skeptical. “They can't possible think that will work.”

“They do with their two best techs handling it.” Kevin lifted his messenger bag over his head, sat down, and pulled up to a computer. “This person is no Anonymous, believe me. It’s going to take some time but I think we’ll find them or someone close enough to start the full investigation rolling.”

“I bet I’ll find them first.” Penelope cracked her knuckles, opened one of the tabs, and starting typing furiously.

“You're on…loser buys the winner pizza.”

“I need to see my wife.” Dave walked to the door.

“I just need to go. Baby girl, if you need anything…”

“I'm not afraid to holler, hot stuff.”

Once they were alone, Kevin looked away from his computer screen. His fingers never stopped moving.

“How did you find out?” he asked.

“An old reporter friend hipped Rossi to the leak. Some of the photos were on TMZ this morning.”

“They hit the web as of 11:07 last night. I was about to hit my second highest score ever on Nun Attack. I was on like Level 8, which as you know is extremely difficult. The bonus points were off the charts _and_ I had two lives left.”

“You got the ping?” Penelope asked. 

She knew all about the techs and freelance hackers that the Department of Justice had watching the web for sketchy activity. Though she was one of the best in the world she was not allowed to be a part of that team. After the incident when Baylor shot her, the Director’s Office wasn’t sure if Penelope was trustworthy. She had a few red marks on her FBI record but surely would never be let go. Keeping an eye on her far outweighed her few infractions.

“Yeah.” Kevin nodded.

“God, what did you do?”

“Well at first it pissed me off. Then I felt like I had accidentally seen my mom without her clothes on. I bypassed protocol and called the Deputy Director at home.”

“Whoa, whoa, whoa, when did you get Kirk Douglas’ home phone number? That’s like having Obi Wan Kenobi on speed dial. Are you Luke Skywalker now? What have I missed?”

“Some things have changed.” Kevin said, looking at his computer screen again.

“Clearly.” Penelope said. “I guess you can't talk about it right now.”

Kevin didn’t want to say that she had no right to know because that was cruel. The truth was that they tried to remain cordial but it was increasingly difficult to be a part of each other’s lives anymore. Both were in serious relationships with other people. The last bits of bitterness, resentment, and jealousy burned away with time. They were doing a decent job at some semblance of friendship and would always work well together. 

He was sure that no one brought out the hacker in him better than Penelope. She just wasn’t his first call anymore when Kevin to good news. This time around he realized that he hadn’t called her at all. That spoke even more volumes than the silence that suddenly filled the room.

000

“Rossi, we can talk right?” Morgan asked. “We can talk like bros?”

“Yeah.” Dave nodded. He was still angry, distracted, but trying to bring himself back from the brink.

“Are you sure? Because I don’t ever want to say anything offensive but this is hard to hold back.”

“You have the floor.”

Derek cleared his throat and looked at his teammate. He and Rossi were tight now; a smooth road paved over a very bumpy course. Morgan cared about the older man and respected the hell out of him. He didn’t want anything he was about to say affecting what took years to build.

“Alright, and you know I don’t look at Strauss as anything but my former boss and my friend’s wife. The purple 50s inspired lingerie with the peep toe stilettos and the wet hair…” Morgan held out his fist.

Rossi smirked, bumping his fist on Morgan’s.

“We don’t need to say anything else about it.” Morgan said as they walked toward the BAU’s large glass doors. “Well done, player, very well done.”

***

It was raining when Dave pulled into his driveway later that evening. He was surprised to see Erin’s BMW was already parked there. All day he'd been trying to get in touch with his wife. Both her work and personal cell phones would ring a couple of times and then go to voicemail. Her assistant Tim said shew as out of the office for the rest of the day. 

Finally Dave sent her a text. ‘ _Just let me know you're alright. I understand that you might not be able to talk but I am so worried about you baby_ ’. About 15 minutes later, his phone buzzed on his desk. ‘ _I'm alright, pressing business that I need to handle. Dinner at home later…lots of wine_ ’.

When he walked inside the house two happy, barking dogs and the smell of steak greeted him. Dave took a few minutes to love Mudgie and Scruff. Then he made his way back to the kitchen. There she was; beautiful, barefoot, with a glass of wine and Stephen Bishop singing on the radio. Erin was pan searing two steaks. There were some other pots going on the stove as well. While his wife wasn’t the world’s greatest cook, it looked as if she had the situation under control.

“Hey there.”

Erin turned and looked at him. She put her wineglass down on the counter, walking straight into his arms. Dave exhaled when he finally held her.

“All I wanted all day was to protect you.” he murmured. “It was driving me crazy that I couldn’t even get to you.”

“I stood tall and never wavered from that.”

“It’s perfectly OK to take the mask off now.”

“There is no mask.” Erin kissed his lips and went back to the stove. “I was so damn angry. I felt like a viper ready to strike.”

“What did Kirk say?” Dave asked.

“How did you find out about this, David?”

“An old reporter friend of mine found me today and let me know. He knows that you're my wife. Hell, the entire country knows that you're my wife.”

“Do members of the BAU know about the pictures?” Erin asked. The thought of it made her stomach turn. They knew enough of her weaknesses; had seen enough vulnerability to last a lifetime.

“Only Derek, Penelope, and I know. They both promised, without my urging, to keep it to themselves. As for the rest of the team and other BAU agents, they would have little reason to stumble across it unless someone has a fetish for hot, fiftysomething blondes. Not that there's a damn thing wrong with that.”

“I felt completely violated.” She whispered. “I still feel a little nauseous thinking about it.”

“Someone put your personal life, your very personal life, on the internet. You should feel violated.”

“For just a few minutes after I found out about it,” Erin took the steaks out of the pan and put them on a large wooden chopping block. “I felt ashamed. I was mad at myself for doing something that left me vulnerable to attack. 

“How silly is that? John Curtis attacked me and I’d done nothing to cause it. The same is true now. I deserve to have an intimate life with my husband. Whether the evidence of it is on my phone or locked in a safe, when it’s stolen I'm the victim.”

“Absolutely.” Dave nodded.

“FBI techs destroyed my personal SIM card today. They found some kind of virus on it. They think it was left behind in error and could possibly lead them to the hacker.”

“Penelope and Kevin are two of the best. They will dig as far as they can to find out who did this.”

“I feel like my kids have seen me naked.” Erin sighed as she turned off the other pots on the stove. “I made red roasted potatoes in an herb and garlic vinaigrette and two large artichokes. I hope you're hungry.”

“Damn woman, who knew being filled with blind rage would turn you into Julia Child.”

“The truth of it is that I'm not really as bad a cook as everyone thinks. I'm just lazy when it comes to it…I never want to concentrate. Tonight I needed to find a place to channel my rage. This really helped.”

“I’ll set the table.” Dave went over to the cabinets and got the good plates. “Shall we eat outside?”

“That sounds great.” Erin nodded and managed a smile. She went to the pantry closet for the serving tray. The dogs followed the smell of meat out onto the deck. It was slightly humid but a cool breeze lay underneath the rain. All in all it wasn’t a bad night.

“This really looks good, baby.”

“Your steak is medium rare just as you like it.”

“You outdid yourself.” Dave said. 

“Let’s drink to something.” Erin popped open the bottle of 2010 Recuerdo Malbec red wine. She poured two half-full glasses. “Anything, I don’t care.”

“We’ll drink to drinking.” He held up his glass. “It’s not always good for you but tonight we’ll make it just fine.”

“Hear, hear.” Erin sipped her wine. “I put the steak in the oven for nearly an hour before putting it in the pan. I saw a tutorial on YouTube. I wanted to add some lobster but I wasn’t in the mood to go to the market. There are always too many people there. In my mind I felt like everyone knew what I looked like without clothes.”

“You never told me what Kirk said.” 

Dave cut his steak, it was like butter. He honestly couldn’t believe that his wife made this. Erin wasn’t the worse cook that he ever encountered but she was being honest when she said never wanted to concentrate on it. Erin loved to dine out. She also loved his cooking and Dave enjoyed doing it. He thought he would ask her to join him in the kitchen from now on. Anything the couple could do together with the little time they had was appreciated.

“He was livid, not at me but the entire situation.” Erin said. “Other than that, he didn’t say much else. Kirk has always been the strong, silent type. I was embarrassed that he had to see me like that. He wasn’t embarrassed though; I don’t think much embarrasses him.”

“I hope you weren’t embarrassed by the pictures, Erin. I understand embarrassment at the thought of people seeing you in an intimate situation. But nothing about what we did was wrong.”

“I just want to know who would get off on doing this. Kirk thinks the person is close to me. He thinks someone in the Justice Department, or somewhere in the DC machine, is trying to drag me down. No one expected me to become a hero after the Curtis incident. I surely wasn’t trying to. Some very powerful men lost respect and some letters on their clearance grades for what happened. So they may have decided to fight back. He's working on a tighter theory.”

“I didn’t want to think…” Dave sighed.

“I couldn’t think of anything else really. But it’s done now and there will only be pictures on my cell phone of dogs, trees, and the grandkids. I won't let anyone intimidate me or dictate my life. I also refuse to give them anymore fodder to hurt us. We've been through enough.”

“I love you.” he took her hand and held it to his lips. “You're the bravest woman I know.”

“Flattery will get you everywhere tonight, Agent Rossi.” She managed a smile and though it was small, it was genuine. 

Erin was glad the day was over. Life had just started to settle down, get back into a relatively normal routine. Of course something had to come and shake the foundation to the core. That’s what it had been about these past five years...fighting major battles. Erin didn’t always win them but she had every intention of winning the war. 

They might never found out who did this to her. Tomorrow she would walk into Quantico with her head held high. The day after that she would go into an Academy meeting with the Director and some Justice Department yahoos with her back straight and her game on. Erin’s reward would be the weekend, which if she was lucky would be spent in her husband’s arms with their dogs and their favorite classic films. They deserved a little peace and quiet.

***

“I forgot to tell you earlier, I bought us presents.” Erin said from the bathroom.

“I'm sorry, baby, what?” Dave looked up from his laptop. He wasn’t even writing tonight, he was coming down from the day with word games. They kept his mind sharp and calmed him at the same time.

“I bought us some presents. It was a bad day so I did a little shopping.”

“I approve.”

“You don’t even know what they are yet.”

“Well if you like it, I love it.”

“I like it.” She said.

“See, when we’re on the same page nothing can stop us.”

“Get your face out of the computer, David.”

“I'm just distracting myself until you're ready for bed.”

“I've got something a little more adventurous than sleep on my mind.” Erin said.

“Now we’re definitely on the same page.”

“So look at me, Agent Rossi.”

Dave did, and he the smile spread across his face like sunshine. His wife was standing in the doorway of their bathroom. She wore a red and white Wonder Woman tee shirt with a matching pair of boy shorts trimmed in lace. A pair of black, peep toe high heels completed the outfit. A digital camera hung around Erin’s neck.

“Oh wow.”

“Do you like what you see?” Erin asked.

“Me likey.” Dave nodded. “C'mere, baby.”

“What's the magic word?” she asked.

“Please.”

He quickly shut down his laptop. Dave put it on the nightstand and grabbed the remote for the stereo. He turned it on and Beyoncé’s voice filled the room.

 _I've been drinkin, I've been drinkin_  
 _I get filthy when that liquor get into me_  
 _I've been thinkin, I've been thinkin_  
 _Why can't I keep my fingers off it, baby_?  
 _I want you, na na_  
 _Why can't I keep my fingers off it, baby_?  
 _I want you, na na_ …

Erin took her time walking across the room to the bed. The sway of her hips was like a pendulum; she knew it turned her husband on. He loved her in lingerie and high heels. He loved when she owned her sexiness. That was so easy to do with Dave. 

He told her she was sexy and meant it when he said it. It wasn’t just Erin’s physical appearance. It was her strength, her grace, and the way she liked to shake her hips to Beyoncé songs. It was the way she smiled when she crawled onto the bed they shared, nearly feral. Dave reached out his hand for the camera when Erin took it from around her neck.

“This is going to be just for us.” She said. “Let someone try to hack into this.”

“Are you sure, baby?”

“I'm not wearing my favorite tee shirt for my health, David.”

“You're not wearing it for mine either. I'm having heart palpitations over here. Damn woman!”

“Wait until you see what's underneath.”

She laughed, sitting up on her knees. Erin took the pins out of her hair one by one. Her husband took a few pictures. She smiled, she pouted, and she laughed. Dave took even more. So many had tried to take things precious away from Erin. They couldn’t have this; this was all hers. From now on, she would keep it that way.

***


End file.
